Projekt

This project will result in the building of a family center in Bobikuma, Ghana. The organization Make a Difference has since 2015 developed contacts and made blue prints for the center that is meant to be built with the sustainable technique “rammed earth”. The family center will create job opportunities for the habitants in Bobikuma, both when it is being built and when the daily work gets started. Make a Difference has an objective to both give back by using local workforce and by trying to buy as much of the materials that will be needed to build the center from the local area.

The idea of this project has grown up during the last years based upon experiences from working in Ghana with orphans and children of special need since 2008. The decision to build the family center is taken by Make a Difference after contacts with the department of Social Welfare in the area and based on research in Bobikuma. Local’s involvement is important to create something sustainable.

The people of Bobikuma in Ghana not only have a hard time finding jobs in general, but also when they do find them, many work long hours for low salaries (e.g. as farmers). The low incomes lead to poor families not being able to take decent care of themselves. There is little or no time for both work and parenthood, which puts the parents in a very hard position; how to take care of their children's growth and mental wellness while trying to earn enough money for the resources needed for the family to survive.

The family center will create job opportunities for the people of Bobikuma in two steps: first during the building process and later, when the building is finished, it will create job opportunities at the center when it is up and running. The family center will make it possible for caretakers to leave their children in a safe environment and by that go to work without having to worry about children alone at home. This center will hopefully not only be a wheel that gets the society running, but also a shelter for families that need a place to stay in case of emergency, something that actually can be the difference between life and death. The center will help families stay together and prevent that children from broken families become orphans.

The Rammed Earth technique, which builds on the main idea that mud is used as the biggest material, is considered an important part of the project. It results in environmental friendly and cheap buildings that hopefully will promote the constructing business in Bobikuma. Make a Diffrence found out about the technique by talking with a company in Sweden named Asaduru and an Australian company that has been using this technique a lot before. One part of the contract will be teaching the technique to the local people in Bobikuma.